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Sens Look To Garden To Nurture Growth
by SENShobo on 11/17/08 at 09:02 AM ET
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The Sens have an unusual ‘practice’ Sunday, the team gets a minor in-house shakeup, in advance of any outsourcing, and the questions are still left unanswered for the team, and for the all-too-quiet fans, but first…
There will be no chanting of his name, no bronx cheers when he touches the puck, but tonight may be a bit emotional for the Sens, witnessing their old friend, Wade Redden, outside of a Senators uniform for the first time. The Rangers seem to enjoy snatching up teams’ top players, Zherdev, Naslund, Gomez, Drury, and Redden not likely to make one think of blueshirts first or foremost.
According to NHL.com, Ottawa has won the last five matchups at MSG, and 15 of the last 20 games against the Rangers overall. Still, Sens fans have not had much time yet to forget just how much good their impressive record against the Isles did for them in their last two games.
At this point, there’s nothing beneficial that will come from coaches comparing Ottawa (6-9-2) and the Rangers (13-5-2). The San Jose Sharks’ two extra wins and extra overtime defeat are all that keep the Rangers from being tops in the League; an overtime loss by Florida tomorrow would place us dead last.
Offensively, the Rangers (2.60G/G, 20th) and Sens (2.41, 28th) are not so far apart, and defensively the Rangers hold a slight lead once again, 2.15GA/G, 3rd, to 2.59, 8th. It’s in the five on five goals for/against ratio where the gap is drastic, Rangers in 10th with 1.18, Ottawa 29th with 0.67. The Sens’ anemic-of-late powerplay (20%, 10th) leads the Rangers nonetheless (15.8%, 23rd), though their penalty killing (90.7%, 2nd) has a distinct statistical advantage (85.3%, 7th).
Apparently though, Ottawa’s best chance at winning would be to lead the game after the first; that is where they are still undefeated. The Sens tried to battle back from an 0-3 deficit against the Isles with two goals in the third; maybe they would have had more motivation had they led coming out of the first.
Whatever the result, the Sens won’t get much chance to change it, facing tough tests at home on Thursday when they host the Habs, and Saturday when they host the Rangers, and debut their new “Back in Black” Jerseys. I still find myself hoping to see the classic 20s era “O” adorning the Jersey, and the current Senators logo on the shoulder patch gives hope, but all the rumours out there suggest that the League’s continuing a confused fan trend, and that we will see “SENS” splashed across the front of the jersey.
As reported on yesterday, the Senators have recalled defenseman Brendan Bell.
From the Ottawa Sun, Murray on his decision and current planning,
“We’ve got to try to get a little more off the power play,” Murray said yesterday. “I’ve been told (Bell’s) done a good job in that area (in the AHL).”
Recalling Bell, who is second in scoring on Binghamton with five goals and nine assists, is just a small part of the big picture Murray is looking at with Ottawa sitting only one point ahead of the last-place Panthers in the East.
“I’ve talked to quite a number of GMs,” said Murray. “Everybody is in the same boat. If you’re winning, you don’t want to trade and if you’re losing, they’re offering guys that are probably a little bit of an upgrade, but not really that big, especially (on defence).
“I don’t want to just to dump a player that we’ve seen at a good level without making sure that we’re right with what we’re getting back. But I am going to continue to pursue some options that might be out there.”
I’ll disagree with the Sun’s and Citizen’s guesses that Schubert or Picard will sit. Seeing Fisher taking Phillips’ spot on the point during powerplays makes me believe that Schubert will sit, only not in the press box, but at the forwards’ end of the bench, with perhaps Donovan or Foligno in the press box. Donovan has received the least ice time among forwards of late, and this despite his consistent hard work and good job on the forecheck, working pucks along the boards, and never letting up. Keeping Schubert on the ice will give the Sens two powerplay bluelines, with Kuba, Picard, Schubert, and Bell available.
According to the Ottawa Senators’ website, Neil has a sore, though not likely injured, knee, and will sit tonight out as Ruutu returns, Zubov stays in the lineup, and Auld will likely make his latest consecutive start.
From the Ottawa Citizen, on Hartsburg’s practice replacement yesterday,
“I want to make sure they understand that the situation is obviously urgent and we’ve got to continue to focus on things that will give us a chance to have success as a team,” Hartsburg said. “But, instead of talking to them as a group, I want to talk to each guy individually about it.”
....
“So maybe the message one-on-one will be clearer and if there are questions, we can certainly get them out,” he said.
As pointed out, Alfie’s lack of goals in the last 10 games highlights the concern for the Sens, who have the lowest even strength total (20 goals) of any team. As anemic as the powerplay has been, without their 20% success rate to date, the Senators would be in a much deeper last-place hole.
From the Ottawa Citizen, Alfie feels the lack of scoring weighing down on the team,
“I don’t think I’m gripping the stick, but it’s not happening naturally right now,” he said. “You just have to find a way to put the puck in the net. That’s what we need right now.”
He was still regretting a chance he missed on Saturday that might have turned the game around.
“We were down 1-0, we had a two-on-one shorthanded, and I tried to go high glove,” he said.
“And I get it up this high (six inches) off the ground. It’s not even close to where I want it. I don’t know if it was the ice or just a bad shot, but, if we score there, we tie it up 1-1 and we get all the momentum there.
“But we don’t and they score 45 seconds later. We can’t seem to get the momentum when we need it as a team. We’ve got to score, simple as that.”
What is the problem? There is plenty of firepower on the Senators’ lineup, but it has not been clicking, especially not at even strength. Aside from the many missed shots and unfortunately luck-blessed goaltenders, one of the keys that has appeared missing has been a drive to the net for rebounds. Facing Lundqvist tonight won’t be easy, but going hard for the net will make it easier, although the Rangers’ defense has been physical, its top six averaging 32.5 hits apiece at this point, compared to 28 for the Sens, though the Senators three fewer games played leaves the blueliners virtually tied with 1.6 hits per defenseman per game.
Also from that Citizen piece, Murray is still looking for the right deal, should it be deemed a necessary trade,
If Murray was offered a top player, such as, say, Florida Panthers defenceman Jay Bouwmeester or Vancouver Canucks defenceman Mattias Ohlund, he would be willing to pay a premium, but so far no one has.
“I don’t want to dump a player that we’ve seen play at a good level with us without making sure that we’re right in what we’re getting back,” Murray said. “But I am going to continue to pursue some options that might be out there.
“I’d be willing to pay a price for a (top player), and certainly I’ve had those discussions with a couple of people, but nobody’s in a hurry.
“So you have to be a little bit careful. If I thought this team didn’t have the ability to play better than it has, I guess I’d be more urgent and probably pay too much.
“But I do think we have a good group. I do think we should score more goals. I do think we should be winning some of these games.”
There has indeed been a clamor from Ottawa fans to trade players, with many pointing to Vermette’s current failure to deliver on his offensive promises as a reason to see him and his short but below-market contract to be moved. It’s rather amazing to think that with Kuba, Picard, Schubert, Bell, and Lee that we have not found adequate puck-moving yet, but is moving Vermette or any other player worth picking up yet another potential non-starter?
As much as teams want to avoid trades at this early stage in the season, for hopeful and salary cap reasons alike, Murray making a move should come before the new year, when it is the upcoming UFAs who are on the market from out-of-the-playoffs teams, and at vastly inflated prices. It may well come down to being more aggressive in the UFA market this July 1st.
The last thing fans should cheer for, though, is forcing a trade that sends the team down the road of throwing away the future for a brief flirtation with good players, before they too depart and leave the team in their dust. See Comrie, Mike, and Stillman, Cory, as a pair of examples, not that losing Alexei Kaigorodov to Phoenix was a loss, as he is still in Russia. Unfortunate still, it appears that no player of real value is available, and fans should listen less to hopeful rumour mongers when calling for trades, lest they wind up with a player really worth scratching their heads over.
The first thing fans should cheer for is their team. Remember the crowd when the team came home from losing the Cup in Anaheim, the one that was allegedly larger than the Cup-celebration gathering in Anaheim? Those are the fans this team needs now. When you hear the Isles’ fans following Montreal’s suit with “Oleeee, ole ole ole...” cheers (as early as the second period no less), you know you, as fans, have to come a long way. The team shouldn’t need this to perform, but until you have done all you can (and I can humbly say the fans have not), the right to complain is not wholly yours.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
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Fully addicted to hockey, Andrew Dodds finds it safe to live in the alleys, considering his allegiance to the Ottawa Senators in the middle of Leaf County. He tries to bring you as many worthwhile Sens stories as he can find, along with his musings on the team and the NHL in general; musings indeed since he is but a humble hockey hobo.
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